All Hiss and No Bite
Being one of the oldest parts in all of Zootopia, Sahara Square was about to celebrate its 400th anniversary in a few days. A big festival was to be held in there, with both the mayor of the city and the sheik of Sahara Square arranging all sorts of entertainment and activities. Among it all, there was certainly plenty of room for some magic acts too. Nick Wilde, who had just started a promising career as a stage magician, was going to perform his best disappearing tricks there. The fox was now sitting in the van of his sidekick Finnick, as they were on their way to meet Judy. Nick was counting the money he had earned from his last couple shows. “120 bucks more than I earned in popsicle hustling? Wow”, he had just finished counting. “Well you keep adding new things to each act, which keeps the audience interested. The old magicians did the same thing over and over again, and they lost their audience. You´re doing great so far, Slick Nick”, Finnick smiled as he parked the car near the town hall. Judy had been visiting the mayor to talk about the festivities on Sahara Square. It hadn´t been long since she had become the number one belly dancer of Sahara Square, even rivaling Gazelle in popularity. The rabbit had even started giving dance lessons to other animals, including one of her friends, Mrs Otterton, who was getting pretty promising in that too. Walking out of the office casually, she went to see Nick and Finnick who came out of the van. “How did it go?” Nick asked. “Well… I talked to Lionheart and the sheik, and they told me that every anniversary festival in Sahara Square had a snake dance performed by a beautiful mammal. I volunteered to do that, but that was until I remembered that I have never handled a snake before”, she admitted. Even though the mammal predators in Zootopia had been civilized for centuries and there was no real reason to be afraid of them, that was not the case with other animals. Judy had been a bit afraid of snakes ever since one of her cousins got bitten by a viper when she was a child. Finnick had an answer to this dilemma though. “I think I can help you with this, fuzz. Follow us”, he showed, as Judy went to the van with him and Nick. He drove the two to his flat, where he showed them the pet ball python he had owned for quite some time. “He´s called Diggs. No need to be afraid of him, he has never bitten anybody I´ve known. Say hello to auntie Judy!” the fennec introduced his pet to Judy. “H-hi”, she stuttered a bit. The snake had curled up into a ball as Judy tried to pet it nervously. Swallowing her fear, she calmed down her movements, and a calmly slithering Diggs started to trust her too. “Well he seems docile. All hiss and no bite. I only hope the dance won´t bother him while I hold him”, Judy wondered. “No, he won´t hurt you. You´re too big for him to eat anyway”, Finnick laughed. “Your dance moves are so smooth and delicate that he´ll go along with it fine. Besides, it´s not the first beast that a beauty like you has tamed”, Nick winked at his blushing girlfriend. “I appreciate your confidence. I´ll do my best”, Judy said. Her boyfriend´s encouragement and the help of his companion made the task seem less difficult to her. As days went by, Judy met with Finnick and handled Diggs more often while she and Nick were hanging out with him. The reptile eventually got used to her, and the rabbit wasn´t afraid of him anymore in the slightest. She was soon ready for the festival. Finally, the day came. The biggest festivities of the day took place in the gigantic palace of the sheik. There was enough room in the great hall of the palace for all the important visitors. The Sheik of Sahara Square and Mayor Lionheart had taken the former´s royal box, where they were being served dates and drinks by the sheik´s harem girls. Other visitors were in the main area, watching for all the performances. Nick had just finished his magic act, where he turned a box of leaves into gold dust. That got a huge applause from the audience, and they threw money at the stage. “The Fox with the Magic Touch thanks you! You were a wonderful audience!” he bowed, leaving the stage. Before he could go to the backstage, the moment he had waited was about to begin. Nick went to take a seat next to Finnick. The music started playing, and curtains opened. The Princess of the Burrows herself showed up, this time dressed in a dark pink belly dancer outfit with a coin-trimmed bra, a matching skirt, golden earrings, a snake bracelet and veils all over her. Gazelle and Mrs Otterton were behind her in similar costumes, for they had volunteered to be their friend´s backup dancers for this occasion. “Look, Gazelle is in there too!” Clawhauser squealed in excitement and the show got Bogo´s attention too. After twirling a moment, Judy dropped one of the veils on her, revealing the snake on her neck. Nick was amazed. His sweetheart showed no signs of fear towards Diggs, and just let it slither around her body as she danced. Judy made a few shimmies, waved her paws and swayed her hips wonderfully. She felt the snake´s head on her back and tail on her hip, but the animal was just as calm as she was at the moment. Almost like it was embracing her in a way as she danced. “Daddy´s little boy´s doing great with your girl”, Finnick said and a lovestruck Nick nodded. He always looked like that when Judy was dancing. It was like the perfect mix of beauty and talent to him. Judy held the snake in her paws like a child. As Gazelle and Otterton gently lifted it from her, she removed the veil on her face and did the last part of the dance without Diggs. Her upper body and even her ears swinged rhythmically as the music got faster towards the end. The rabbit also thumped the ground smoothly with her paw, which was an unique move from her part. Finally, the dance was done. Everybody in the palace applauded at such a magnificent show. Judy and her two companions bowed, and she even blew a kiss to Nick in the audience. “You did it again, Carrots!” he gave her the thumbs up. Nick and Finnick went to the backstage soon after the dance, passing the sheik nearby who was heavily praising the dance while talking with Lionheart. “She truly is a thing of beauty. Can´t believe a country girl like her has such skill. Maybe she has some desert rabbit blood in her?” the sheik said. “Might be possible. You really seem to be fond of her, Your Excellency. Why don´t you get to know her better? She´d make a fine addition to your harem”, Lionheart asked. “She would, but her heart already belongs to the magician. Such a lucky fox he is, they do make a great couple. Bless those two”, the caracal sheik answered. “Real cool guy that sheik. Praises not only your girlfriend, but also your relationship with her”, Finnick said to Nick as they opened the door. Otterton and Gazelle had already left, but Judy was still there, petting Diggs who was still slithering in her lap. “Diggs! Did Daddy´s little snake enjoy dancing with the bunny?” Finnick took his pet in his paws. “He´s a gorgeous animal. I wouldn´t mind dancing with him again. Thanks for your help”, Judy smiled. “But you were still the most gorgeous thing in the palace tonight, Judy”, Nick sat next to her. “Overcoming my fear of snakes and trying out something new with my new career. Another step forward for me, I must say. A small step, but a good one nonetheless”, the belly dancer said. “Those are always worth taking. I´ m really happy you´re still enjoying this and being so good at it too”, Nick petted her ears. “Your magic acts are always wonderful as well, darling”, Judy looked at her boyfriend adoringly. “What a success this night was. It deserves a celebration. I´m buying you a big carrot cake when we get home”, Nick started cuddling with her on the bench. She smiled in delight. “And for being such a sweetheart again, I´m going to dance for you only when we´re home”, Judy whispered to him. She knew how much he absolutely adored that. To Nick and Judy, praise from audience was always welcome. But the feeling of celebrating their success together after that was to them the big prize after all the hard work. And it was worth it yet again. Category:Stories inspired by 1,001 Nights Category:Ara-Bunny Nights AU Category:WildeHopps stories Category:NickXJudy